Will abortion protesters abandon Thursday vigils at Bloomington Planned Parenthood?

Laura Lane, The Herald-Times
Updated ·3 min read
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After 24 years carrying anti-abortion protest signs outside Bloomington's Planned Parenthood clinic, Carole Canfield's Thursday morning routine will change this week.

Indiana's new law banning most abortions was to go into effect Aug. 1. The law bars Planned Parenthood clinics in Indiana from performing medical procedures.

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The law allows abortion in Indiana in the instance of rape or incest, but only up to 10 weeks. Fetal anomaly abortions are permitted up to 20 weeks. Any pregnancy terminations allowed under the law will be done in hospitals.

Carole Canfield gets into her truck July 27 after a morning spent protesting abortion at Bloomington's Planned Parenthood clinic, which she's done nearly every Thursday for 24 years. With the state's near-total-abortion ban set to go into effect Aug. 1, abortions will no longer be performed at the clinic and the Bloomington woman's protest days there may be over.

Canfield, 68, is pleased with the state's new law but said it needs to go further: she believes all abortions should be banned, no exceptions.

It's possible she and others will move their protest efforts to public spaces at hospitals that perform abortions, Canfield said. "We're waiting to see if the law goes into effect, and then we'll have a discussion about how we'll go forward."

Standing in the shade of a tall tree outside the Planned Parenthood clinic last week was 24-year-old Matthew Harper from Louisville. He's a member of a church-based group called Speak for the Unborn, which encourages women to turn away from abortion. He said the organization offers financial and other help to women considering ending a pregnancy.

Matthew Harper, 24, of Louisville, came to Bloomington Thursday to protest abortion. He was outside the city's Planned Parenthood clinic representing a group called Speak for the Unborn. A man who volunteers as a Planned Parenthood escort for patients stands in the background beneath an umbrella in the hot late-morning sun.
Matthew Harper, 24, of Louisville, came to Bloomington Thursday to protest abortion. He was outside the city's Planned Parenthood clinic representing a group called Speak for the Unborn. A man who volunteers as a Planned Parenthood escort for patients stands in the background beneath an umbrella in the hot late-morning sun.

Thursday was Harper's second visit to the Bloomington clinic. He said he spoke to three women as they were going in that morning. Indiana's abortion ban may send him to other states to continue what he called "sidewalk counseling."

Where will women go to obtain services?

Next door, Illinois and Ohio Planned Parenthood clinics are ready for a surge in patients, something they've already been experiencing. Abortion in Illinois has no restrictions prior to "fetal viability" – usually about 23 to 24 weeks. In Ohio, abortion is legal up to 22 weeks.

Illinois Planned Parenthood Chief Strategy and Operations Officer Kristen Schultz said an uptick in patients from other states has been apparent since the Supreme Court reversed nullified Roe v. Wade a little over a year ago.

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The organization has seen patients from 34 different states. One clinic, in Champaign, expanded in September 2022 in preparation for an increase in patients from other states. At that point, 11% of its abortion patients were already coming from Indiana.

Dr. Adarsh Krishen, chief medical officer at Planed Parenthood of Greater Ohio, said restrictions and bans on abortion extend wait times and push patients to travel farther for services.

“Whenever bans or restrictions get put into place, the demand and stress on the surrounding states increases significantly,” he said. “Because patients are wanting to access care (wherever) they can access care – and as soon as they’re able to get that care.”

That inevitably penalizes those with fewer resources who might have to travel to seek care. Leaving their home state means travel costs, hotel stays and meals, at minimum. It could also require time off from work and paying for childcare, among other expenses.

A man who said he's been a patient escort at Planned Parenthood for five years stands in the parking lot Thursday.
A man who said he's been a patient escort at Planned Parenthood for five years stands in the parking lot Thursday.

Outside Bloomington's clinic on Thursday, a 53-year-old man wearing a Planned Parenthood escort vest over his shirt stood beneath an umbrella in the parking lot, waves of heat lifting from the asphalt.

He wouldn't identify himself, but said he's been a volunteer escort there more than five years and that it's unclear what the future holds for pregnant people.

Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967. Evansville Courier & Press reporter Sarah Loesch contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: What's left to protest at Bloomington's Planned Parenthood?